Russia's response to Obama 'is frankly the most damaging and embarrassing answer we could receive'

US
President Barack Obama with Russian President Vladimir Putin at
the United Nations General Assembly in New
York.Thomson
Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin
on Friday said the Kremlin "will not resort to irresponsible
'kitchen' diplomacy" in response to new US sanctions for Russia's
suspected meddling in the US election process.

"Although we have the right to retaliate," Putin said, Russia
would instead "plan our further steps to restore Russian-US
relations based on the policies of the Trump administration."

Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, initially suggested
that Russia would respond in kind by ejecting 35 US diplomats in
Moscow and St. Petersburg.

That idea was shot down by Putin, however, who has effectively
chosen "not to dignify the measures taken against Russia with a
response," said Michael Kofman, a global fellow at the Wilson
Center who specializes in Russian and Eurasian affairs.

"This is frankly the most damaging and embarrassing answer we
[the US] could receive," Kofman told Business Insider on Friday.
"It's quite clear that both the Obama administration and Congress
are trying to box Donald Trump in on Russia policy. But instead
of responding to this latest salvo with predictable retaliatory
measures, Russians have chosen to make them a nonissue."

Boris Zilberman, a Russia expert at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies, noted that even the conflicting responses from
Lavrov and Putin appeared strategic.

"Lavrov and the Duma played bad cop and Putin played good cop
here," Zilberman said. "I think Putin saw through Obama's attempt
to throw a wrench into relations in the next administration, and
looking as though he is above the fray is likely a win as well
for him."

Mark Kramer, the program director for the Project on Cold War
Studies at Harvard's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian
Studies, told Business Insider in an email Friday that Putin's
"conspicuous announcement today was intended in part to give the
impression that Obama's measure are weak and inconsequential (as
indeed they largely are) and do not deserve a response."

"Putin can thus depict himself as taking the high road," Kramer
added, "and undoubtedly will be praised in European and Third
World countries that are always eager to condemn the United
States."

Vladimir Putin.Dennis
Grombkowski/Getty Images

Indeed, Putin on Friday appeared to play up the idea that he was
taking the high road, using his statement to invite "all children
of US diplomats accredited in Russia to the New Year and
Christmas children's parties in the Kremlin" and offering "New
Year greetings to President Obama and his family."

President-elect Donald Trump
said on Thursday that he would meet with US intelligence
officials to discuss the Russian involvement in the election
hacks, but he reiterated that he felt it was "time to move on"
from the issue.

"It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better
things," Trump said in a brief statement released Thursday,
echoing what he told reporters on Wednesday from his Mar-a-Lago
estate in Florida.

Trump's response indicated a willingness to put the hacking
scandal in the past to move forward with a policy he frequently
espoused on the campaign trail, one that would see his working
more closely with Putin in an attempt to mend the US-Russian
relationship.

"The lack of a response means that bilateral relations will not
be stuck in a rapid downward spiral by the time Trump takes
office in just over three weeks' time," Kramer said. "Putin
clearly believes that Trump will be far more willing to
accommodate Russia's demands in Syria and Ukraine and other
regions of the world and will also be far more willing to accept
Putin's entrenchment of authoritarian rule within Russia."

Still, it is unclear whether Congress will follow Trump's lead.

Paul
Ryan.Darren Hauck/Getty
Images

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday said that the sanctions were
"overdue" and "appropriate" and that "Russia does not share
America's interests."

Incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, moreover, said he
"strongly" supported "the steps the administration is taking to
fight back against Russia's interference in our election."

"We need to punch back against Russia," he continued, "and punch
back hard."

Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain vowed to
introduce even more sanctions on the Kremlin next year, calling
Obama's actions "long overdue" and "a small price for Russia to
pay for its brazen attack on American democracy."

Trump is therefore likely to face resistance to his "pro-Putin
agenda," Kramer said, and the resulting policies may not be as
congenial as Putin hopes.

"It is also doubtful that Defense Secretary-designate James
Mattis will blithely put up with a series of far-reaching
concessions to Putin's government," Kramer said.

In the meantime, however, Putin's nonresponse speaks to the fact
that he is trying to give Trump maximum space to reset the
relationship, Kofman of the Wilson Center said.

"And that," he added, "is the more important game Moscow is
playing in 2017."